SOUTH SHORE INSIDER: Firm helps employers make workplaces safe

As president and founder of Safer Places Inc., Middleboro resident David Sawyer knows that it’s not always clear what background information is true.

By Dan Schneider

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Dan Schneider

Posted May. 29, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 29, 2013 at 9:16 AM

By Dan Schneider

Posted May. 29, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 29, 2013 at 9:16 AM

MIDDLEBORO

» Social News

Imagine you’re interviewing a prospective employee and he drops this bomb on you: he has an evil twin who’s been using his name every time he’s been arrested in the last 10 years, for everything from assault to burglary. How could you determine whether the candidate is telling the truth?

As president and founder of Safer Places Inc., Middleboro resident David Sawyer knows that it’s not always clear what background information is true. In a time when people openly share more and more information publicly, Sawyer warns that employers need to be cautious before ruling out an applicant.

What’s surprised you most about the background check industry?

Oftentimes it’s how much I need to educate my clients. People will call and say, ‘How much do you charge for a background check?’ You can’t really answer that until you have a conversation with them. Who are you background checking? What positions are you hiring for?

Maybe in this position, they’re sitting in an office all day, not interacting with the public or driving a vehicle. On the other hand, someone who’s a repair technician or a carpet cleaner, where you’re sending them into people’s homes and having them drive a vehicle, you certainly don’t want someone with a violent criminal past or a terrible driving record.

How has the post-9/11 environment changed the role of the background check industry?

What’s changed is that, pre- 9/11, you had to talk to people and convince them that they should do a background check. Now everybody knows they should. It’s just a matter of how deep they want to go.

Today, you can go onto a website and do a background check and pay a small amount of money, but the old adage “you get what you pay for” comes into play.

How so?

More and more now we’re able to access the court records electronically, but for the majority of records, you can’t. You have to actually go to the courthouse.

For instance, in Massachusetts you can’t access any criminal records electronically except CORI reports. It’s unique to Massachusetts. But you have to be aware that, in most cases, you’ll be limited in what you’re getting, because they limit misdemeanors to five years on record and felonies to 10.

A better approach is to look at where someone lived, and where they live now, and check those court records directly.

Will you check a person’s social media accounts as part of an overall background check?

We’ve stayed away from doing social media searches.

The law says that you have to have procedures in place to assure maximum possible accuracy in your reports. If I could go online and see things left on a Facebook page that are available to the public, I could report that. Maybe there’s a picture where it appears an applicant is smoking pot; if it’s illegal in that state, that’s an indication that they’re breaking the law.

Page 2 of 2 - But how do I know that it’s not Photoshopped or that it’s not tobacco? I don’t know that I can assure maximum possible accuracy on those things, so I stay away from them.